Instant Pot recalls cooker over potential fire hazard

Instant Pot is recalling one of its pressure cooker models because it can pose a fire hazard.

The distributor has received 107 reports of the Gem 65 8-in-1 multicooker overheating, including five instances when it caused minor property damage, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

No injuries have been reported.

The recall is for Gem 65 8-in-1 model with batchcodes of 1728, 1730, 1731, 1734 or 1746 printed on the rating label underneath the multicooker.

The Instant Pots, which cost approximately $80, were sold exclusively at Walmart stores across the country and at www.walmart.com between August 2017 and this past January.

People who own these Gem 65 8-in-1 multicookers are advised to immediately stop using them and unplug them. They may be returned to Walmart for free replacements.

"The overheating is the result of a tooling misalignment during the manufacturing process, which created a gap between the bottom of the inner pot and the top surface of the heating plate in the product. This gap can cause the multicooker to overheat and melt on the underside, posing a fire hazard to consumers," Double Insight, the Ottawa-based importer and distributor of the multicooker said on its website.

The company said that people who own the recalled product and don't live near a Walmart store should contact Double Insight for a return shipping label and instructions for removing and returning the power cord and the rating label.